National penalties - offences against the administration of justice

South Africa

Implementation of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (Act No. 27 of 2002)

CHAPTER 5
MISCELLANEOUS (ss 33-40)

37 Offences against administration of justice in terms of Statute

(1) Any person who-

(a) in the Republic; or

(b) outside the territory of the Republic and who-

(i) is a South African citizen;

(ii) is not a South African citizen but who is ordinarily resident in the Republic;

(iii) after the commission of the offence, is present in the territory of the Republic; and

(c) during his or her interaction, in any matter whatsoever, with the Court, in respect of any matter over which the Court has jurisdiction and whether or not the Court is functioning in the Republic or not, intentionally-

(i) gives false evidence when under an obligation to tell the truth pursuant to paragraph 1 of Article 69 of the Statute;

(ii) presents evidence that he or she knows is false or forged;

(iii) corruptly influences a witness, obstructs or interferes with the attendance or evidence of a witness, retaliates against a witness for giving evidence or destroys, tampers with or interferes with the collection of evidence;

(iv) impedes, intimidates or corruptly influences an official of the Court for the purpose of forcing or persuading the official not to perform, or to perform his or her duties improperly;

(v) retaliates against an official of the Court on account of duties performed by that or another official;

(vi) solicits or accepts a bribe as an official of the Court in connection with his or her official duties,

is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine or imprisonment for a period not exceeding five years, or to both a fine and such imprisonment.

Rome Statute

Article 70 Offences against the administration of justice

3. In the event of conviction, the Court may impose a term of imprisonment not exceeding five years, or a fine in accordance with the Rules of Procedure and Evidence, or both.

Article 77 Applicable penalties

1. Subject to article 110, the Court may impose one of the following penalties on a person convicted of a crime referred to in article 5 of this Statute:

(a) Imprisonment for a specified number of years, which may not exceed a maximum of 30 years; or

(b) A term of life imprisonment when justified by the extreme gravity of the crime and the individual circumstances of the convicted person.

2. In addition to imprisonment, the Court may order:

(a) A fine under the criteria provided for in the Rules of Procedure and Evidence;

(b) A forfeiture of proceeds, property and assets derived directly or indirectly from that crime, without prejudice to the rights of bona fide third parties.